Hikari No Rokku
by abilityPOINT
Summary: Bleach Movie Based , contains spoilers . -- flashbacks ! Read at own risk. R & R , first fic in nine months . Friendship - Kusaka & Hitsugaya .
1. Innocent Friendship

Here's my first fic , after so long :D

**Here's my first fic , after so long :D **

**Title : Hikari No Rokku Rock of Light (Bleach movie – based )**

**Here we go ! :D**

**Please excuse me if it's not well done .**

**Don't read if you have not watched the movie, it contains spoilers.**

**If the response is not good , I may take this off the Fanfiction listings .**

_**Note : Italics are flashbacks FROM THE MOVIE .**_

* * *

"Don't run so fast!" Kusaka yelled from behind as Hitsugaya sped away from him, toward the approaching Hollows.

"Catch me if you can!" Hitsugaya grinned, grabbing Hyorinmaru in his hand and speeding away.

Kusaka sighed and gave chase, releasing Hyorinmaru at the same time. The Hollows roared and started towards him. "Come on," he smirked, releasing a chain of ice that encircled the nearest Hollow's neck.

'_Why can't we have the same zanpakuto?' Hitsugaya's voice echoed in the 46 Chambers. _

'_Because it is against the law.'_

'_A law in place since the ancient times.'_

'_Fight!'_

'_Fight!'_

'_If we have to fight, I would rather abandon Hyorinmaru!' _

For now , they didn't know that they had to fight.

They were living the innocent life of all the students in the Shinigami Academy.

They didn't know that they didn't have a future with each other.

* * *

'_I'm so happy that we were both able to acquire the same zanpakuto!' he remembered exclaiming._

The ice chain broke off the Hollow's neck, and while it was disentangling itself, it whipped two of the other Hollows nearby, instantaneously freezing them.

A shadow loomed overhead.

Looking up, Kusaka saw a giant Hollow, no, a Menos Grande behind him.

The student leaders were too far away to help. Was he going to die?

A red beam appeared in the Menos' mouth. Apparently he was.

"CERO!" Kusaka exclaimed in panic.

"No way you're gonna get Kusaka, buddy," he heard . A blue dragon flew overhead, crashing into the back of the Menos.

Hitsugaya stepped forward.

"What were you doing?!" he gave Kusaka another irritated face, which made Kusaka chuckle even more.

"Nothing. Maybe waiting for you to save me."

"Yea, right." Hitsugaya snarled sarcastically, standing up. "You betta get this fella cleaned up, he was after you."

"Wha-?" Before Kusaka had time to reply, his friend was gone, freezing the Menos on the way to kill the Hollow he had killed halfway.

_"Toushirou, we'll always be friends, right?"_

* * *

He smiled and swung Hyorinmaru forward, destroying, or so he thought, the Menos.

"OI KUSAKA!" he heard an exasperated yell from Hitsugaya.

"Yea?" he turned around and saw an ice dragon flying towards him. "TOUSHI-!" he ducked and looked up in the direction the dragon had flown towards.

"KU-SA-KA !" he could feel the murderous glare of his friend on him. "YOU NEARLY FROZE ME!"

"Gomen." Kusaka said, grinning to himself.

By now, the student leaders had been alerted to the presence of the Menos, and rushed up, before annihilating it.

"Arigato, Toushirou."

"Uh."

* * *

"_I never wanted to join you in the first place."Hitsugaya growled. _

"_I see. I was mistaken."_

_They were on Soukyoku Hill, fighting to the death._

* * *

"Kusaka! Over here!" Hitsugaya's voice echoed in the hall as he found a place for them to train together.

"AHA! I FOUND YOU!" Hinamori yelled as she opened the door of the underground training room.

"HINAMORI!" Hitsugaya snarled, running after her. "Oi, Bed-wetter!"

Students in the corridors stared, as they looked on at the commotion that Hitsugaya and Hinamori were kicking up.

"TOUSHIROU!" Kusaka yelled indignantly as he gave chase. "You'll be caught for running in the hallways!"

"What is going on here?" a teacher stepped out of the doorway, glaring at the three pupils running after each other.

"Uh, nothing… we were just having a game of chase, gomenasai…!" Kusaka grinned in a panic.

"Don't do that again." The teacher warned, staring in suspicion at the other two pupils, before mercifully going back into the doorway and closed the door.

"TOUSHIROU…" Kusaka's eyebrow twitched.

"What?" Hitsugaya turned and looked at Kusaka.

"IF I'D GOTTEN CAUGHT JUST NOW, I WOULD BE MURDERING YOU NOW!"

Hitsugaya snorted. "Like you would…"

"Yea, right…"

* * *

"_This brings back memories, doesn't it,." snarled a voice from behind the mask._

_Hitsugaya was faintly aware of the sword stabbing into his waist… and the blood that came with it. But the hilt of the sword… it seemed strangely familiar… and so was the voice that taunted him._

* * *

"Very good swordplay, Soujirou!" the teacher-in-charge of the training class commended Kusaka.

"Very tactful of you to use that method.. you caught the opponent by surprise, Hitsugaya!"

And so on and so forth, the days went by very fast. Too fast, in fact.

"_Why do I… have to die?"_

* * *

TBC :D review pl0x .


	2. The Beginning of the End

* * *

Disclaimer : Yea, abilityPOINT will own bleach when  
1) Hell freezes over  
2) Her school uniform gets dirty (which is equivalent to never)  
3) When skillPOINT says I love you to her

**Which means to say, when Hitsugaya and Co. come to Earth will be the day I own Bleach.**

"It's you?" Hitsugaya's eyes widened.

"Yes. How are you?" the busty female Shinigami, the one responsible for his entering the Academy replied.

"…fine."

"Yo Toushirou!" Kusaka walked up towards him, before inspecting the Shinigami closely. "Who're you?"

"Yea, who _are_ you?" Hitsugaya asked curiously.

"Jubantai 3rd seat, Rangiku Matsumoto." She smiled, and looked at the two boys' Zanpakuto.

"Looks like you guys have achieved Zanpakuto, huh."

"Yea, isn't it cool, me and Toushirou managed to acquire the same Zanpakuto! 'Cept that our guard is somewhat different."

"Nani? Same zanpakuto?" Matsumoto asked, curiosity aroused.

"Yea, look!" both boys showed her Hyorinmaru.

"…I have to warn you two of something. That's the main reason why I came here. I received word that both of you achieved the same zanpakuto, but I had to see it before I actually warned you." Here, Matsumoto's eyes darkened.

"It is strictly against the law of Soul Society for two Shinigami to own the same zanpakuto. Sooner or later… the two of you will have to fight for ownership of the sword… and one of you will be sent to exile."

"S-Sent to exile?" the two boys, contrasting in appearances and behaviour, the complete opposites of each other and the most unlikely friends, replied simultaneously.

"Yes…" Matsumoto turned away from them. "It isn't often that this happens, but when it does… those who are affected… are affected deeply."

* * *

"Forever isn't something that exists…"

* * *

"Exile…"

"Why did this have to happen…"

"Why can't we have the same zanpakuto…"

"Why can't we be friends forever?" Kusaka yelled the last sentence out.

"Teme, Kusaka!" Hitsugaya screeched at him.

"What?"

"The meaning of forever is here, in your _heart_." Kusaka was taken aback. This wasn't like Hitsugaya.

"Even if we're separated, even if we're killed, sent into exile… Won't we still be friends? Isn't that what… friends are for?"

"It's unfair… why can't we have the same sword?"

"Soul Society… is about maintaining balance…isn't it?"

"Yes but.."

* * *

"_As long as he wields the same power as me, there is no room for him here."_

* * *

"Shiro-chaaaaaaaan!"

"Bed-wetter? What on earth are you doing here?!" Hitsugaya stared at Hinamori.

"I'm taking a _break_ from class!"

"Yea, a _break_." Hitsugaya retorted sarcastically.

"Yea, A BREAK!" Hinamori whacked Hitsugaya on the head.

"You two are such a perfect couple." Kusaka snorted.

"What?" Hinamori and Hitsugaya turned around to stare at him, then at each other.

"KU SA KA, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"

"Oh, nothing." Kusaka waved his hand innocently.

"Teme…"

"Why…Why…"

Echoes of Kusaka's voice sounded in Hitsugaya's mind.

* * *

"Why… do I… have to die…?"

* * *

Hitsugaya clenched his fists. What options did he have left? To leave the Academy… and leave Kusaka… and leave Hinamori… or to stay… and fight Kusaka?

"I don't know what to do anymore…"

The two friends were lying side by side by a stream in Rukongai, where they had run into each other one day.

"Ne, Toushirou, what do you think death'll be like?" Kusaka asked.

"What?"

"You heard me, didn't you?"

"…Why do you ask."

"I'm just wondering… how our battle will be like.."

"…We'll talk about such things next time…"

'Calling Hitsugaya Toushirou and Kusaka Soujirou of Class 2-H! Calling Hitsugaya Toushirou and Kusaka Soujirou of Class 2-H! Please proceed back to the Academy now! This is urgent, please proceed back to the Academy now!' two Hell Butterflies hovering beside them said.

"Nani?" the two glanced at each other.

"Toushirou, whatever happens… just remember that we'll be… friends forever." Kusaka whispered as they shunpo-ed back to the Academy, racing each other like nothing had happened.

Hitsugaya closed his eyes. "Yea."

The door of the Academy opened and they were allowed in.

"Konnichiwa, Sugino-sensei." They greeted their teacher.

"Konnichiwa. Please take a seat." The two of them sat down on the comfortable chairs that were in front of the teacher's desk.

"I suppose the two of you know that no Zanpakuto is permitted to be wielded by two Shinigami. Even if you did not know, Matsumoto Rangiku should have informed you already."

"Hai."

"Therefore, we have arranged for the 46 Chambers to speak to you personally after deciding what to do with you two."

"…Hai, Sugino-sensei…" they replied quietly, facing the sense of impending doom.

"However, it is almost confirmed already… that you will fight each other for ownership of Hyorinmaru. The loser will lose Hyorinmaru and be sent to exile."

"Sensei, why can't there be two Hyorinmaru's?" Kusaka interrupted.

"That is the ultimate law of Soul Society, to maintain balance. Just as there cannot be two similar Shinigami, two similar Hollows… there cannot be two similar zanpakuto."

"…Is there no way to settle this…other than fighting…?"

* * *

"Kusakaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa !"

* * *

TBC ? :o review please  
If I don't get reviews .. I'll ... kill ... Hitsu- no, Kusa- no, Hitsu

Hitsugaya and Kusaka : (turn around , glaring) WHAT ?

* * *


	3. Cruel Death and a New Dawn

AN : This is a rather _rushed_ chapter , so please , please bear with me . Review and give constructive comments please . -looks at reader with puppy eyes-

_Italics for this story are not like chapter one or two , this time they represent THOUGHTS ._

On with the story ! :D

* * *

_and we'll graduate with our hearts in our hands,  
and hand in hand walk towards the new dawn . _

* * *

The sky was turning to dusk when Hitsugaya and Kusaka made their way to the 46 Chambers via Shunpo. Although neither of them showed any sign of worry, they were both feeling butterflies in their stomachs and an ever-increasing impending sense of doom.

They reached the Chambers at nightfall, exhausted from the reiatsu they had used to shunpo the many miles from Seireitei.

Two heavy gates loomed overhead. Taking a deep breath, Hitsugaya walked forward. The gates opened to reveal a corridor filled with darkness. _Good luck, Kusaka._

Kusaka smiled weakly and followed Hitsugaya through the gate. The younger boy seemed to know the way through the corridors by heart. _Typical of you, Toushirou. To remember all the things that Sugino-sensei said…_

Hitsugaya navigated through the corridors with ease. _Not far now…_he turned left and then right, before finding himself face-to-face with a door with the words 'Meeting Room' on it. Crossing his fingers, he knocked and opened the door before stepping in.

The room, a circular tower at the northern part of the building they had entered by the gate, was covered in darkness at the center from the shadows of the members seated around the main 'table'. The sides of the room, however, were drenched in red light that looked too much like blood. Hitsugaya bowed respectfully and Kusaka followed suit.

"Toushirou Hitsugaya, Kusaka Soujirou. I assume you know why you have been summoned here today?" a voice, loud and commanding, boomed from somewhere in the room.

Kusaka and Hitsugaya nodded in unison. "Yes, sir!"

"Good. Then may we proceed with the fight for ownership of the ice dragon Hyorinmaru?" here, the voice paused.

Kusaka interrupted. "Excuse me… why must we fight? Why may we not wield the same zanpakuto?"

Before the commanding voice could find an answer, a graceful voice, cool and collected, answered the question. "I believe both of you know that the core element of Soul Society and therefore Seireitei is **balance.** For two Year Fives who have skipped at least a year in the academy, you should be very clear about this. Hyorinmaru is the strongest ice-type zanpakuto, and has lain in slumber for a few centuries, untouched and remembered by few. That it should awaken to two Shinigamis' souls is not a good sign.

"Thus, we have to destroy one of them lest they are turned on each other when they have matured and their wielder more powerful, which might cause disastrous damage to Soul Society and in essence the world. Do you understand?"

Hitsugaya shouted at nobody in particular, "Then I would… I would rather **abandon** Hyorinmaru!" _Sorry, Hyorinmaru…_

_Toushirou…_Kusaka looked at his friend in amazement. The younger shinigami was staring with rage-filled emerald eyes at the faceless people of the Chambers.

"Rejected."

"Impossible."

"Unacceptable."

"**Fight**!"

"Fight."

"Hyorinmaru is such a power; be honoured!"

Hitsugaya felt his sword fall from his grasp. Then everything went black.

* * *

Blinking and trying to register what had just happened, Kusaka found himself at the edge of a barren plain, beside a spring. Opposite him was Hitsugaya, who was dusting himself and picking up Hyorinmaru to put back into its sheath on his back.

There was a sudden spike in reiatsu and a change in the atmosphere. Hitsugaya spun around to find Kusaka running towards him with his sword drawn.

"Kusaka…!?" He stumbled backwards and teetered on the edge of the spring. Fighting to regain his balance, he found Kusaka charging straight at him.

"Hyorinmaru is mine! Toushirou!" Kusaka shouted, ready to land a finishing blow. His eyes were filled with a hunger for power.

"Wait, Kusak-!" Hitsugaya was given no time to finish the sentence, and had to draw Hyorinmaru as a last resort to save himself from certain death.

The two swords crossed for a second. In that second, memories came flooding back, and… a blue dragon flew out of Hitsugaya's blade, engulfing Kusaka into its icy-blue depths.

Hitsugaya gulped in shock. _K-Kusaka!_

The dragon disappeared, leaving the immobile body of Kusaka encased in a block of ice.

Kusaka strained to free himself. _Toushirou…_ the ice shattered.

As the ice shattered and Kusaka stood up gingerly, several members of the Secret Mobile Corps appeared. Half a dozen of them surrounded Hitsugaya while the rest gathered around Kusaka.

Their leader walked forward and announced, "The 46 Chambers have spoken. Toushirou Hitsugaya will be the wielder of Hyorinmaru. Now, Kusaka Soujirou, _die_." Speaking thus, he drew his sword and vanished.

Hitsugaya and Kusaka's eyes widened and faces paled simultaneously. The leader's shunpo was too fast for them to follow. And suddenly, blood spurted out of a wound on Kusaka's shoulder.

"Teme…" he cursed, falling to his knees. The Mobile Corps' leader looked down at him coldly. _Toushirou… sorry… and…_

Howling to the wind, he shouted, "I swore… to protect Soul Society. N-Now…" his sentence never finished as the Mobile Corps around him stabbed him at a go. Blood splashed onto the ground.

Freeing himself from the iron grip of the Mobile Corps holding him back, Hitsugaya ran towards the fallen body of his friend even as Hyorinmaru vanished into spirit particles.

"Kusakaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

* * *

"He's at it again," a Year Five in Hitsugaya's class whispered to his friend. Ice was creeping up the classroom walls and there was ice all over the floor.

There had never been a time when Hitsugaya lost his cool when Kusaka was still around. But yet again, if one's best friend was killed right in front of one and one had not stopped it, wouldn't one had reacted the same way?

It was nearing the end of the school year. Hitsugaya had yet to forget the ruthless murder of Kusaka and his classmates all still thought that Kusaka had been sent to the living world on a mission.

Hinamori was, as usual, oblivious, and Hitsugaya had no intention of telling her what had happened. However, she was aware of a growing population of the 'Hitsugaya-haters'. She had no time to worry about that though, because her entrance exams into the Gotei 13 were starting and she wanted desperately to enter the Fifth Division under Aizen-taicho.

Failing to distract himself, Hitsugaya took to training Hinamori in swordfighting and hone her skills, as she was weak in that particular area.

The day before Hinamori's first exam, the written paper, Hitsugaya brought her to a training ground where he and Kusaka used to train. As they began sparring, he began thinking about the final fight Kusaka had been involved in. Somehow, he could not forget it. There seemed to be something he could not quite place his finger on. Suddenly, it clicked.

**When they were fighting, he had released shikai without saying the command**...Here, the truth hit him hard. Glancing at Hyorinmaru briefly, he narrowed his eyes. _Hyorinmaru, is it true?_

Soon, it was dark and Hinamori had to return to her dormitory. Wishing her the best of luck, Hitsugaya bade her a quiet farewell and beat a fast retreat, not wanting to risk being seen by anybody.

He did not return to his quarters; on the other hand, he headed towards the cavern where he and Kusaka had first achieved their zanpakuto.

He looked at Hyorinmaru and closed his eyes, before shouting, "Bankai!"

Nothing the senseis had taught came to mind; there was a tingling sensation creeping along his left hand, and another up his back. He could swear that there were sparks going off in his head.

He opened his eyes and was astounded. Even though he had expected it, he had not realised that it would be so large, so grand…He had achieved _bankai_. Now he needed a name for it, but what?

Hyorinmaru answered for him. _Hitsugaya, the name is Daiguren Hyorinmaru._

Hitsugaya's eyes widened. It was the first time Hyorinmaru had spoken since Kusaka's death. However, it wasn't the time to think of such things now.

"Daiguren Hyorinmaru, huh…"

* * *

The bankai training continued, day after day. Sometimes he would be so tired that his legs could hardly bear his weight, but the prospect of learning a new skill was too inviting, and he couldn't refrain himself from training extensively long hours.

The day finally came. Hyorinmaru pulled its wielder into the plain of ice that was his inner world. It was covered with ice as usual, but Hitsugaya noted that there were patches of water, but those too were freezing up in the extreme temperatures.

* * *

_Hitsugaya, _the dragon rumbled.

_Yea?_

_Today, I will teach you a new skill, the Thousand-Year Ice Prison._

_Really? Am I really up for it? _Hitsugaya remained doubtful.

The dragon smiled –if that were possible for a dragon- and everything began spinning around until all that was left was a mass of white.

* * *

Hitsugaya crossed his fingers. _Here goes nothing._

"**Thousand-Year Ice Prison!" **he pointed his sword at a stalagmite. Thousands of ice pillars surrounded it, encasing it.

_Hyorinmaru, that _is _cool, alright._

He was startled by applause from behind a rock. "Who's there?" he asked, pointing Hyorinmaru in a defensive stance.

Revealing himself, the homeroom teacher Uchida-sensei stood up and clapped his hands. "Amano-sensei, Sugino-sensei, Mikako-sensei. Time to reveal yourselves!" he grinned widely, showing his many white teeth.

Hitsugaya merely looked on dumbly as the teachers came out from behind a wall of rocks.

"Don't look so bewildered, Hitsugaya-kun. Your progress with bankai has been admirable." Mikako-sensei congratulated him with a genial smile on her face.

"Hm… you're fit to be a captain now, and it's best you be one fast." Sugino-sensei added. "Tenth Division just lost their captain so…"

Hitsugaya was flabbergasted. "Lost… a captain?"

Amano-sensei's usually monotonic voice was actually tinged with sadness. "Yes. **Iwase-taicho** was murdered two days ago. He…was killed by one of the **Secret Mobile Corps**…it was an accident. Now the Tenth Division is in uproar. **Matsumoto-fukutaicho** can't handle a single division by herself."

_Matsumoto._The name struck as very familiar to Hitsugaya. Then he realised why. _Matsumoto Rangiku_ was the person who had recruited him.

Well, if she was the vice-captain and the one who had convinced him, then… Hitsugaya grinned at the thought. **How ironic. She recruited her own captain.**

* * *

If you read this I assume you have read the whole chapter . Please press the 'Go' button below and review ! :D thanks a lot !

I'm finishing up this story in the next chapter , hopefully .  
If possible I **might** write a sequel . But that is only if the response is good (More than 5 reviews for this three chapters)

Ohyes , there is a question here .  
Guess where I got the names of the captain and the senseis from :D (Hint: the name of Iwase-taicho is from Gundam Seed -grins evilly-)

A cookie for each correct guess and two cakes if everything is correct ,


End file.
